Cast Members:
Myself, Julia-32 yr old Medical Assistant in an internal medicine practice.
DD, Rachael-Her 7th birthday is May 4th. THIS TRIP IS A SECRET! Amber-24, My favoritist girlfriend on the face of the earth

Thought Id share some info about my hotel snag:Chose a 2.5* Mystery Hotel on Hotwire for the Disney Maingate-Celebration area. Already knew from Betterbidding .com that there was a VERY good chance that the hotel I already WANTED and had chosen was going to be the winning bid.

Nonetheless, it was NERVE-WRACKING to wait for the transaction to be completed so that I could see that I did, in fact, receive the hotel I wanted and I DID! I was so nervous about it because the hotel I had been eyeing in 2008 was NOT the one I ended up getting. We got an OKAY hotel . But def. not what Id thought wed get @ $60/night.

I ended up paying $23/night, with taxes that came to $88 and some change. HOW AWESOME IS THAT? Best Western Lakeside is recommended by 79% of Tripadvisor travelers whove gone to this hotel, and they really sing its praises!

Heres where we are staying:

There's also a mini-golf, the rooms come with a fridge, and there is a shuttle if we choose to use it.

Pack my carry-on (its a lot cooler here-highs in the 60s- I can do that now w/no problem)

Pack Rachaels carry-on (this will be slightly more difficult as children run seem to run significantly warmer so she doesnt blink an eye at wearing shorts and tanks in high of 68/70 days .!)

FIND a tank or tee to put Rachaels Birthday Girl iron-on transfer on

Now, to add to all of this, the only day off I have between now and the day we leave is Sunday. I work every day, with Thursday and Saturday being ½ days. Eek! Thursday, Rachael is hosting a makeover-spa-day with 3 friends here @ home, followed by going to a local Regency Beauty Institute to do an Updo-and-Nails! I also need to pick up the 2 dozen mini-cupcakes for her class for her actual birthday on the 4th, and pick up wrapping paper for her little gifts we got her for her birthday!

That's a great deal on the hotel. I know exactly where it is, since I stayed across the street from it once. It has changed ownership a couple times. I think it was even a La quinta for awhile. For $88 for the whole stay - you can't beat that.

So you're meeting up with Katie on the 6th? I am seeing her for dinner. I knew I shouldn't have canceled that other Ohana ADR I had, but who knew? I felt quilty holding on to it for such a long time.

Hey y'all! So Phase ONE of Rachael's birthday is through, having finished her "spa party" today with 3 of her little friends. We made brownies, ate pizza, did makeup, and went to a local Regency Beauty Institute for an "updo and nails" experience. Followed up with ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery. I'm a good mom. I'm tired!

Tommorow Rachael leaves for a family get-together in southern Illinois with my parents and will be back late Sunday. I plan to pack as much of her bag as possible before then. Here's how its gonna go down Wednesday: We'll wake up her on the morning of her birthday and I'll present her with her "Birthday Shirt":

I got the iron-on design off of ebay.

Armed with mini-cupcakes for her class, she'll head off to school and be picked up by grandma and grandpa at 2. After I get off @ 5 I will arrive home and we will sing, open a few small gifts, and then she will open a large box containing her packed suitcase with this laying on top:

I made it with scrapbooking supplies....

How that little monster is going to sleep is beyond me but we'll hit the sack early and leave for the airport at 4am. We'll get there around 5:30 for our 6:20 flight. We don't have anything to check, we're only bringing carry-ons.

Here's the envelopes I grabbed out of DISigns for spending money, housekeeping tips, and food cash:

And here''s a luggage tag I found also that I'm printing off and laminating for Rachael's bags.

AND...the other day I secured our rental car off Hotwire forr $23/day for a total of $126.xx I also ordered our tickets to be picked up in Orlando from GreatOrlandoDiscounts.com. I ordered tix for 1-day base and for Blizzard Beach! We're all set, yes?

I am HOURS AWAY from leaving! Still so much to do... mostly housework because I don't want to return to so much....

We leave @ 3:30am to get to the airport around 5:15 for our 6:45 flight. No baggage to check. Southwest Airlines.

Rachael's birthday is TODAY and we had a cake last night and sang... (pictures coming soon)

This morning, she opened a box with a Selena Gomez CD, some new earrings, some iron-ons, new jammies, new belts, and her TICKET! (pictures coming soon)

She went to school armed with her 2 dozen mini-cupcakes and her "birthday dress" newly decorated with the iron-ons.(picture coming soon)
So... she looks at the itinerary for our trip and the most excited day and item on it she is looking forward to???